“Is it safe?” she asked.
“You doubt my ability to keep you safe now? Christ, you’re the mother of my children. I’ll protect all of you long after the day I die. The Guard will keep you safe for the rest of your days.” He stood from the bed and clutched her hand. “Right now, I need to find a place where I can make love to you. I don’t think the Warrens should hear what I’m about to do to you.”
* * * * *
By now, Rose shouldn’t be surprised by Oz’s level of access. But walking into the luxe condo in modern shades of white and beige had her thinking of seven figure mortgages. Still, she barely glanced at the sleek furnishings and perfect décor as Oz whisked her through the door and to the bedroom.
For some reason, once alone with him, the weight of her emotions crashed over her. She wrapped her arms around her middle and watched him slowly unbutton the cuffs of his button-down shirt.
The masculine movement excited her beyond anything she’d known before, but she could only stare at him. When he reached for his top button, the cotton stretched across his shoulders and biceps.
Her eyes locked on the line of tanned flesh speckled with dark hair converging at his lower abs in a love trail. When his shirt hung open, he focused on her. He took in her pose and dropped his hands to his sides. A gap of plush carpeting between them felt like an endless desert.
Why was she suddenly so nervous about sleeping with him?
Because it’s the first time love has been mentioned.
Besides, she wasn’t only sleeping with the man of her fantasies—he was the father of her children, and somehow, his knowing this secret opened floodgates she didn’t realize she’d locked shut.
Insides jittery, she forced her arms to relax and lowered them. Her nipples peaked just from the look in his eyes.
“You’re as nervous as I am,” he drawled out.
She released a small laugh. “I have no idea why.”
“We could use a drink.” He walked across the expansive bedroom to a small wet bar along one wall. Backlights illuminated the crystal and the bottles. He set two glasses on the marble surface. He even made lifting a bottle of expensive whiskey look sexy as hell. The veins in the back of his hand drew her attention as he poured them each a healthy tot of the amber liquid.
She cut her gaze across his broad shoulders and down his spine, chiseled with muscles, she knew from grabbing him in the throes of ecstasy. His carved ass and the way he filled out his jeans drew a feminine sigh from her.
When he turned, the glow in his eyes caused her to suppress a shiver. He walked over to her and extended the drink. She wrapped her fingers around the glass, and he brushed his thumb over hers before letting go.
Nervously, she brought the drink to her lips. The burn of the alcohol comforted her. Oz leaned against an armchair, tracking her every move. Just seeing him leaning there, legs crossed at the ankles, brought sexual tension to her core.
He lowered his glass and swiped a drop of whiskey off his bottom lip. “I’ve never seen you drink before. I don’t know how you react to alcohol.”
She arched a brow. “Are you hoping I’ll strip off my clothes and swing from the chandelier?”
“Well, not the chandelier. My buddy would be pretty pissed to find we ruined his place.”
“So you actually know the person who owns this place?”
He nodded and took another sip.
“And that beach bungalow?”
“That belongs to the Church.”
“I don’t understand the Church.”
He leveled his stare on her. “That’s something to discuss in time.”
“What do you mean?”
“We have to come to some compromise if we’re going to entertain the idea of a relationship.”
“Do you mean you’ll introduce me to that side of your life?”
He chuckled. “I don’t have any other side of my life. My entire world is built on the Church and making a safer world.”
In awe, she shook her head. “Earlier you called it The Guard. Which is it?”
“They’re interchangeable terms, I guess. We think of the organization as The Guard but the Church as the members. The congregation if that makes sense.”
She nodded and then said, “I can’t believe all of this.”
“I can’t believe you care about me at all after what I did to you.”
She swallowed another sip and tried to think of an answer for that. Finally, she said, “I never could figure it out either. I wanted to be angry with you. I read books and saw movies about women in similar situations, and they all held a lot of anger toward their exes. Sometimes that anger surfaced, but that doesn’t mean I ever stopped loving you, Oz.”
He pulled away from the chair and set aside his glass before coming toward her. The tightening of the denim hugging his thighs made her libido take note, and the alcohol did the trick by loosening her enough to speak and act freely.
She set her glass on a small glass-topped table. “You look a little like James Bond right now, coming to seduce the femme fatale of the week.”
A laugh rumbled from him. “One of my men tried to make a new member take an oath involving Bond. We aren’t anything as cool or sophisticated as that—we’re just fighters who know how to use the world to our best advantage.”
Excitement slithered low through her belly. As he drew closer, she reached out and grasped the open fabric of his shirt, pulling him in. The scent of man smacked her with a strong lust, and she hooked her thigh around his hip.
Oz’s eyes burned down into hers. “I want you like no one else, Rose.”
She went on tiptoe, and he captured her lips. The tenderness washed up inside her, quickly replaced by heavy, panting desire. He slammed his mouth more firmly over hers and thrust his tongue in deep passes that ignited.
Then he lifted her, carrying her a few feet to the bed. They sank to the plush mattress, mouths still locked and limbs entwined. She spread his shirt open, palming over his scorching skin, and he reached for the hem of her top.
As their kiss spiraled on for eternity, her mind released whatever fears she held so close all these years. The moment Oz rescued her, she trusted him to see her safe. Now—at long last—it was time to trust him with her heart.
While he skimmed her shirt up and off, she dragged his over his shoulders. Need drew soft groans from her lips, and he rocked his straining cock into her in answer. When he tore his lips free of hers, his eyes glinted with dirty promises.
Suddenly, he did a pushup away, and she stared up at the gorgeous man hovering over her. His lips twisted. “I’m going to lick and kiss every inch of your beautiful body. Then I’m going to spread your legs and eat your sweet pussy until you can’t stop coming for me.”
She shivered at the dark words.
“After that, I’m going to flip you over and start over on the other side. When I’m finished, I’m going to pick you up and settle you over my cock and make you ride me to completion. Not my completion—yours.”
She slipped a hand down her belly, creeping toward her aching clit. “When do you get your completion?”
His stare intensified as he watched her touch a fingertip to her wet, hard nubbin. The bundle of nerves fired pleasure throughout her body.
Cocking a brow, he said, “You’ve been touching yourself all these years.”